CHATEAU L'EVANGILE, Pomerol
Chateau L’Evangile, one of Pomerol’s finest estates, was purchased by Domaines de Rothschild, owners of Chateau Lafite, in 1999. New cellars were built in time for the 2005 vintage and an extensive replanting program was completed in 2018. Vineyard area totals 22 hectares, 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc, farmed organically since 2007 and certified in 2015. At harvest the grapes from each plot are kept separate, enabling selection of only the best parcels for the Grand Vin.
Vinification takes place in 20, temperature-controlled cement vats ranging in size from 35 to 81 hectolitres. Chateau L’Evangile is aged in an average of 70% new, French oak barrels for around 18 months. Between 2000 and 3000 cases of the Grand Vin are made each year. There is a second wine, Blason de L’Evangile. L’Evangile is a full-bodied, rich, elegant, powerful, opulent, long-lived Pomerol style.
"The 2016 L’Evangile has a sumptuous, generous bouquet of copious wild strawberry and cranberry aromas laced with veins of blue fruit. The oak here is neatly integrated, and this l’Evangile is perhaps a little more open at this stage than other vintages I have tasted. The palate is silky-smooth on the entry, very harmonious and certainly fresh and tensile, displaying a fine bead of acidity. It perhaps does not quite deliver the riveting complexity of some of its peers toward the finish, where it needs more body and persistence, but otherwise this is a very finely crafted L’Evangile that should age well over the next 20 or 30 years. 2023-2043"
94 Points, Vinous
"So ethereal and great on the nose with glorious fresh flowers, such as violets, together with black olives. Dark berries, too. But the archetypal Pomerol nose. Full-bodied yet, at the same time, so refined and structured. Glorious tannin tension and focus. Vibrant finish. Shows energy and focus. Try after 2024."
99 Points, JamesSuckling.com
Pomerol, on the Right Bank of Bordeaux’s Gironde River, produces some of the world’s most sought-after wines, including those from such storied properties as Chateau Petrus. Yet Pomerol, the smallest of the fine-wine-producing districts of Bordeaux, offers no Grand Cru or Premier Cru wines: It’s the most significant Bordeaux appellation not included in any quality ranking. At the time of the historic 1855 Classification of Bordeaux, Right Bank chateaux were considered remote and difficult to travel to, and so were ignored by the merchants who created the classification. (St. Émilion, a notable neighbour on the Right Bank, created its own classification system in 1954.)
Pomerol has managed to do quite well without this form of validation. Pomerol’s predominantly clay soil is ideally suited for Merlot, the primary grape used in the appellation. Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon are also included in Pomerol’s blended red wines. The wines of Pomerol are lush and rich, and generally not as tannic as the Cabernet-based wines of Bordeaux’s Left Bank. Although Pomerol’s very best wines are capable of aging for decades, most are made for immediate consumption. These Merlot-based wines are known for their lush texture, elegance and grace, as well as the softer tannins they offer in comparison to the Cabernet Sauvignon-based wines made elsewhere in Bordeaux.
